Constitute task force to monitor sale, supply of food items: HC tells SMC

Constitute task force to monitor sale, supply of food items

‘EC will suggest measures to check prices, butcher activities’
Srinagar, Mar 13: High Court has directed Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to constitute a special task force to strictly monitor supply and sale of food items in different markets of City.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a division bench comprising of Justices Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Janak Raj Kotwal directed SMC to strictly monitor the supply on weekly basis.
The bench also directed that the task force should file a compliance report indicating how many samples have been taken in a week and against how many violators action has been taken.

In another direction the court directed concerned authorities under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, to carry out milk testing process on weekly basis.
“The concerned field agency shall submit the report through district head, where it shall be clearly indicated as to how many times in a week they have tested food items being sold in markets,” HC directed.
The court also directed all district Magistrates to meet twice in a month to ensure strict monitoring and implementation of the provisions of FSSI Act 2006.
“All district Magistrates shall submit their compliance report by or before the next date of hearing,” the court said.
The court also directed State as well municipal authorities to make suggestions about their future policy for establishment of slaughter houses.
In addition the High Court asked the State government to constitute an expert committee, which shall come out with the suggestions as how standard quality mutton can be supplied to public and what measures shall be necessary for controlling the activities of butchers and dealers in selling the quality meat to public at fixed rates.
The court asked the committee to file compliance report within two weeks.
In another direction the court asked concerned authorities in all the districts of the State to take samples on weekly basis from all factories /industrial units which manufacture and produce spices of all kinds.
The court also asked the authorities to submit report about the samples taken from the factories in a tabulated form so as to indicate how many items of each type of eatables/food items have been taken.
Previously, court directed the government to take steps for making provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 effective on ground and asked Commissioner Food Safety Jammu and Kashmir to take steps to implement the provisions of the said Act.
The district authorities have been asked to take samples on weekly basis from all factories, industrial units which manufacture and produce species of all kinds. In an earlier direction HC said the samples shall be sent to concerned authorities in accordance with the mandate contained in the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and rules and regulations made under the Act.